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8
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9 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
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A
childlike man (Nicholas Hope), kept shielded from society for
35 years, finally enters the real world...
Unfolding like
a blackly comic, over the top redux of Werner Herzog's The
Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser, Bad Boy
Bubby has 'cult movie' written all over it. Normally
films that aim at becoming cult hits tend to fail miserably
— they strain far too much for the qualities that simply come
organically out of authentic cult hits and end up satisfying
neither the mainstream nor the underground. Bad
Boy Bubby is a rare exception. It's blatantly obvious
that director Rolf De Heer was making the film as weird as he
possibly could, but yet it all seems to fit together as a whole.
The story deals
with a 35 year old man who, much like the protagonist of Herzog's
film, has been kept completely out of touch with the outside
world. Raised by a perverted mother, who uses him as a sexual
surrogate for his absent father, he is incapable of functioning
on any level other than mimicry — he imitates words, phrases
and expressions from the few people he comes into contact with
and has no sense of how to function in society. When he finally
leaves the safety of his prison/home, he experiences the joys
of a day to day 'normal' existence. What De Heer does very well
in the film is to show just how strange and out of synch these
mundane elements are to Bubby — whether it be tasting his first
slice of pizza or hearing his first rock and roll song..
Nicholas Hope
does a superb job in the lead. While superficially the sort
of role an actor would kill for, I can't imagine too many mainstream
stars being willing to take this particular project on. Bubby
is in literally every scene and the story is told through his
eyes, but he has some potentially off-putting things to do along
the way.
De Heer doesn't
shy away from showing him having sex with his middle aged mother,
and he even gets to commit a few murders. This isn't a genteel,
'cute' portrayal of mental retardation a la Dustin Hoffman
in Rain Man or Tom Hanks in Forrest
Gump — he may initially seem to be a caricature, but
Bubby grows as a character as the film unfolds and it's a monumental
task, ultimately, to make him believable and compelling as a
protagonist. Hope accomplishes all of this brilliantly, ably
demonstrating a flair for comedy as well as an ability to generate
genuine pathos. The supporting cast does fine work as well,
but nobody is able to compete with Hope's mesmerizing performance.
Bad
Boy Bubby isn't a perfect film — due to its loose structure,
it tends to ramble and De Heer does manage to go a little overboard
in some of his excesses — but it is a compelling, funny, occasionally
moving and undeniably memorable experience.
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Blue
Underground's SE marks the home video debut of Bad
Boy Bubby in the United States. Though picked up for release
by an unknown studio, it — not surprisingly — got scarce distribution
theatrically and was never granted an official VHS, LD or DVD
release. BU has corrected that, in grand fashion. The 2.35/16x9
image looks terrific. Colors are bold and accurately rendered,
and detail is extremely sharp. There is no discernible print damage
to report. Audio options include a new 5.1 mix, as well as the
original stereo track. Both tracks sound fine, though some of
the quieter passages of dialogue may have you jacking up the audio
a few notches.
Extras
include a 25 minute interview with De Heer, a 15 minute interview
with Hope, a trailer, poster/still gallery, and the 20 minute
short film Confessor Caressor, which brought Hope to De
Heer's attention. Both interviews are informative and offer some
excellent insight into this very peculiar film, while the short
film is a wonderful bonus — it's a stylish, darkly funny little
piece sure to appeal to viewers with a slightly twisted sense
of humor.
7/19/05 |
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